8 hours ago
10
Lionel Messi scored in the 17th minute to put Argentina ahead of Algeria in their World Cup Group J opener.
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27'
Back from the water break, Argentina continued to play around with Algeria with eye-catching short passes in their own half.
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24'
Time for a hydration break. Argentina might need to cool off because they are on fire.
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21'
Argentina executed their game plan flawlessly by working the ball around slowly and safely across their defense and midfield before making killer passes forward with great precision.
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18'
France's Kylian Mbappe previously scored his 13th and 14th World Cup goals, only two away from breaking the all-time scoring record at the tournament. And Messi also joined the race by scoring his 14th goal.
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17'
GOAL! Messi scored!
Algeria knew Messi was a real threat in front of the box, but still left him open and got punished. El Pulga, in his 200th appearance for Argentina, celebrated with a screamer outside the box, leaving goalie Luca Zidane no chance.
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15'
Argentina’s structure during build up play is very compact. They’re looking to make short passes in tight areas to unlock Algeria.
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11'
Algeria had a free kick on the left and went short, before Messi made a clean tackle to win the ball back.
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Messi (10) in a tackle in Argentina's World Cup group stage match with Algeria in Arrowhead, Kansas City, Missouri, U.S., June 17, 2026. Photo by Reuters
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8'
Algeria responded with another offside goal
A brilliant play in the midfield by half-Vietnamese player Ibrahim Maza as he fed Fares Chaibi the ball down the middle. Chaibi's finish deserved a 10, as he deceived Emiliano Martinez at the near post. But just like Argentina's previous play, Chaibi was also offside by a thin margin.
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5'
Messi scored but it was offside
The ball found Messi on the right as he showed off his flair before slotting it into the near corner. However, the goal didn't stand as the flag was up. He was offside by just a tiny bit.
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